James 4:8 – Verse of the Day 7/3/13

The idea of double-mindedness is an important theme in the Letter of James. In James 1:8 a double-minded person believes all he has is from himself rather than from the Lord. In 1:23-25 the person who “looks into the perfect Law that gives freedom” and goes away and forgets it is like a person who looks into a mirror and forgets who he is. Here the person who remains in sin is similarly described as double-minded. For James, our only response is to remember who we truly are in Christ, repent, and follow God.

It is so easy to forget our Christian identity, to believe what the world says about human identity rather than what God has told us in His word. As you pray, thank God that the world does not define us, that we do not define ourselves, but rather that God has defined us by uniting us to Himself in Christ. Consider areas of your life that might require repentance and adjustment as a result of this reality, and ask God to give you the strength to live according to His definition of human identity rather than any other one.